Jadran Herceg Novi continued its dominance in Montenegro.
The reigning champion retained the trophy in the Cup of Montenegro. Jadran beat its archrival Primorac 15:10 in this evening’s final and won its 14th trophy in the national cup.
The Final Four was played in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. The finalists didn’t have demanding tasks in the semifinals – Jadran defeated Budva 22:6, and Primorac beat Cattaro 19:5.
Jadran controlled the gold-medal match from the first whistle until the final buzzer, even though Primorac had an extra player for four minutes in the first half. Jadran led 4:2 in the 7th minute. Then, Matej Caraj was excluded for brutality. Still, Primorac didn’t make much of that advantage. At the beginning of the second quarter, Pimorac’s experienced ace, Drasko Brguljan, scored two back-to-back goals and leveled at 5:5. However, the Kotor-based side didn’t go further.
Jadran regained a 2-goal lead by the end of the first half (8:6). The team from Herceg Novi widened the gap to four in the third period (12:8). Early in the fourth, Jadran earned a 13:8 lead and sank Primorac’s last hope of a comeback.
Danilo Radovic scored four goals for Jadran, and Vasilije Radovic contributed to the win with three. Primorac’s Drasko Brguljan and Marko Mrsic found the net three times each.
The culmination of the first half of the water polo season is approaching in all ex-Yu countries. The final tournaments of the national cups will be held in Croatia and Serbia by the end of the week. Jadran Split, Jug (the winner in the last season), Solaris and Primorje will play at the F4 of the Croatian Cup in Zadar. The final tournament of the Serbian Cup will take place in Sabac, with the participation of Crvena Zvezda (the 2022/2023 winner), Novi Beograd, Radnicki, and Partizan.
2023/24 Montenegrin Cup
Semifinals
Jadran HN – Budva 22:6 (8:0, 2:2, 5:4, 7:1)
Primorac – Cattaro 19:5 (4:0, 2:1, 7:2, 6:0)
Final
Jadran HN – Primorac 15:10 (5:3, 3:3, 4:2 i 3:2)
Jadran HN: Da. Radovic 4, V.Radovic 3, Nagaev 2, L.Vukicevic 2, M.Gardasevic 1, Kholod 1, B.Banicevic 1, Vujicic 1.
Primorac: Mrsic 3, Dr. Brguljan 3, P.Cetkovic 1, Vico 1, Dj.Stanojevic 1, N.Markovic 1.
All winners: Jadran HN 14 (2007, 2008, 2012 – 2021, 2023, 2024), Budva (2009 and 2011), Primorac (2010 and 2022).
